It took me a couple of seconds to fully process the man-spider villain. He was like something out of a horror movie, but made very real. Just edging on the point of absurdity where I wavered between shock and disbelief.
“Darkness swirls around this modest abode," he began, in a surprisingly deep voice, full of gravitas. “The crimson which now soaks through the furnishings is a curse rent by your hand, little League weevil.”
I blinked, unsure how exactly to respond to that. Out of all the opponents I had faced in my life, the current enemy had been near the bottom of the list of expected overly verbose monologue-spewers.
[The League didn’t send me. I’m just pest control.]
His eight red eyes looked over me, some moving independently of each other—which was only slightly off-putting. “You wouldn’t believe how often such a stale and dry insult works its way from the mouths of my detractors. I pity you.”
He hadn’t given me a name yet, which seemed rather rude, even if ultimately pointless. Clara wasn’t in the room to give him a look over. She had only just clocked my expression, with me looking up over the door before she came through—otherwise she may have been stabbed through on her entrance. With a couple of henchmen recovering in the prior room, she might have had to back all the way out. That was a shame, as this was the highlight of the evening.
[You’re probably thinking I’m such a silly fly for landing in your trap, yet still being full of bravado.]
“This whole room is covered with a very thin layer of my webbing.” His mouth upturned into what I assumed was a smile. “A task I so very diligently toiled away at as soon as we set up here with our tasty catch. A morsel divine yet still so stubborn to be feasted upon.” Three red eyes swiveled to glance at the pinned Belle.
My footwork and sloppy entrance into the hall hadn’t gotten stuck on anything, nor was I currently rooted in place with anything more than the tension before the fight began. The reason he told me was clear, even before he filled my ears with more droll. No doubt he had some way of feeling the vibrations through the web, so would know where I was every time I moved, even if I filled the room with smoke.
That wasn't an issue, however, as my finger had already felt for the Smoke mag and touched nothing but the pusher inside. No shells left. Clara might twist my ear off when I returned for not managing my ammunition properly. When I could see though the fog and others couldn’t, it made it an easy button to press on repeat to give me an easy win. I wasn’t as bulletproof as some of the supers, so I took what I could even if it was cheap. But now that well had run dry.
“If not with the League, then you have a-”
I cut him off by firing a metal ball at him. It missed, slamming through the wall and into the room beyond, after barely missing one of his shoulder joints.
Half expecting him to either spout some more nonsense at me, or perhaps clamber around the wall or ceiling to get into position to attack, he actually did something I hadn’t anticipated.
He leaped right at me.
Like a compressed spring, he shot from his resting place, sharp arms raised to slash at me. I might have Advanced abilities, but I couldn’t react to his assault in time. His thick body of coarse dark fur slammed into me and we fell to the ground. Warm pain stabbed at my right side as two of his arms cut through my tactical gear and bit into my flesh. The two on my left miss and jabbed through the carpet like butter.
I lashed my head forward, mostly from the surge of anger at the pain shooting through me. My forehead connected with his face, and he grunted and moved back, releasing some pressure. His two arms that ended with normal—albeit completely hairy—hands were trying to pin me down, but he was remarkably light.
As I tried to use my gun-arm to push him away, prying his odd body off of me, one of his blades swiped upward. It only just missed cutting through my face, instead it caught the lip of my hood, cutting and flinging it back. I activated the V-Force in my gauntlet and pushed him away. His sharp blades dug into the carpet as I rolled aside. The trouble with him having so many limbs was that it was tough to put him on the back foot—he just used the others to keep himself steady.
While I had avoided his lunge and rolled up to my feet again, I stumbled back into the wall. At first, I thought he might have poisoned me, but no. The aches I could feel over my body were a few shallow gunshot wounds from my journey to this point. I'd been able to ignore them up until now thanks to adrenaline, but my body was tiring. Just to remind me that this wasn’t exactly a gentlemanly duel, shrapnel burst out from the wooden wall beside me as one of the few henchmen also standing about in the hall tried to take potshots to assist their boss.
The man-spider hissed and slunk back away as the next metal ball loaded into the chamber. As quick as he was, if he moved closer, he wouldn’t have the time to dodge it. There was this constant issue of the other firearms in the room causing issues for either me or my opponent. Fights often swung on who could shoot first or weather enough damage before winning out.
I fired. Perhaps a mistake, but he didn’t want to move forward, and I was waiting for him to get closer for a greater chance of landing a shot. The metal ball skirted past his head as he moved and struck part of his bulbous back end. It bounced off at an angle and went elsewhere in the room, doing little damage whatsoever.
Ah. So speed and some manner of durability. That was good to know. A hard earned nugget of knowledge, however, as he took the opportunity to launch at me again.
Sparks rang from my gun-arm as I blocked one of the sharp arms. A second went through into where he had already stabbed me once again. On my left side, the third went in just beneath my collarbone. The last of his weaponised limbs didn’t quite make it through my coat and gear, and narrowly missed cutting into a rib—instead it just went through the wall beside me.
Thick webbing shot out from his… underside and covered my feet. He leaned his weight—which wasn’t much—into keeping me in place. My eyes burned with fury as he squeezed, his blades trying to do more damage. If I wasn’t careful, the one in my side could disembowel me, which wouldn’t be pleasant.
I went for another headbutt, but there wasn’t much room. One of his hands came up to grip at my balaklava and keep my face away from his. Still, he was close. I could stare into his red eyes as they glared at me hungrily.
It made me wonder why some chose a life of villainy. Well, that was a rather mundane and fruitless question to ask myself. While man-spider here wasn’t too pleasing on the eyes, there was surely work for him the League could assign. What really made him different from me? Or someone like Roxy just having a bad day?
In the end, it wasn’t really something I cared to answer.
I tried my best to be a nuanced and affable person, despite my past. Or maybe in spite of it? Being a bard, I… no, this wasn’t the time for it. My gun-arm went up, and I fired a metal ball past the villain, striking one of the henchmen.
“Such folly. Are you delirious already? Desperate for some manner of win, so your mortal soul might have some closure before being torn from your flesh?” His mouth moved, revealing small but sharp teeth.
Fucking hells, the talkers were the worst. Another metal ball went out and broke through a goon waiting about. Overcharge hummed into life as the last of them went to get into cover.
I felt the blades move in closer. Digging another centimeter or two through my muscle. Fresh stims washing through did little to abate the rising pains. My left hand focused now on holding back the one sharp-arm that wasn’t currently tunneling through my body.
No poison, but I was willing to bet there was something that weakened my own strength in his barbed appendages. Even if durable, with how lightweight the villain was, it shouldn’t be this difficult to push him away.
Third metal ball punctured through several pieces of furniture and a low wall before burying itself in the chest of the last goon. His gurgled yelp was briefly amusing, given what a pickle I was currently in.
The sharp arm that I deflected came up, the pointed end undefendable, now slowly reaching to the side of my face. It ran down my temple and cheek, as if giving me a caress. It was likely that the villain was about to puncture through my goggles and into my eye socket—or perhaps just tear through my face.
I could feel my strength draining as warm blood soaked through my clothing. Threat Level 67, apparently. I forgot how bad that was… as it didn’t really matter half the time. I raised my gun-arm up but was unable to get an angle on him with how close to me he was. I fired it off anyway, then my arm hung slack.
“A final send off? I can replace all my men. What have you really achieved?”
[I want you to know... you are really annoying.]
“What? Hah!” He hissed again, a slow chuckle. “That is all you have to say, my most indignant of meals? Does your doomed tongue find solace in these simple words?”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
[Oh shut the fuck up already.]
My Tazer shot struck him in the leg, just before Clara surged forward and rammed the drone into the side of his head. Not really doing much damage, but in combination with the shock running up his body, it allowed me enough strength to push him away.
I grunted as his limbs slid out of my torso, and as he stumbled back disorientated, I powered up Overcharge once more. There was a danger I’d do some damage to the drive at this point, but with the tubes running from the backpack and providing cooling, I managed to skirt the potential ruin of my important shotgun mechanisms.
The rappel shot out of my left wrist as I swung my tired arm, my synapses briefly able to stop the extension of the wire—causing it to whip around his right leg. As it then started to pull him forward, I raised my gun-arm and fired an empty chamber of V-Force right at his face.
He didn’t know it would be empty, and crossed all available limbs to protect himself. It wasn’t even enough power to damage his eyes, but it would have blocked out his hearing and stunned him briefly. That’s all I really needed.
Realizing he hadn’t been shot, he blinked away the temporary stupor and grinned at me. Of course, I was still stuck in place. There was a notification that the drone had taken some damage and needed to dock, but she’d have to wait. I ignored all the ones that were telling me what injuries I had sustained. They wouldn’t matter in a few seconds.
“You show some spirit, weakling. Not a normal human. You shall make the most delectable of meals.”
I rolled my eyes, because he was still talking. Sure, it was nice for him to hand the win over to me on a silver platter, but sometimes it was nicer to feel like you won by the skin of your teeth. Not that I had any teeth.
The villain brought his limbs back, ready to pounce again. Even knowing what he was going to do, I still couldn’t see the signs he was a jumping spider. There wasn’t the usual tense muscles or crouched position. He was just standing there one second, and then would be trying to impale me with those sharp limbs the next.
And then he did.
Although, his blades didn’t cut through me, but instead stopped as they touched against my clothing. Confusion painted his face as my neck, chest, and stomach hadn’t been cut to ribbons.
I, however, thrummed with a new power. For a change, it wasn’t my own.
The man-spider had some brains in him, as he realized exactly why he had failed soon after. His head snapped around to see Belle standing there, hand extended, as she maintained a protective barrier over me. She had suffered some minor burns, but mostly on her clothing. The Incendiary shot I had put up there after the henchmen had been dealt with had burned through the webbing in short order.
Of course, the blast of air to disorientate his senses was so that the woman could land down on the floor without him hearing once the other threats had been taken care of. Perhaps unnecessary, but I did this sort of thing because often in a fight, the element of surprise was the different between life and death.
Something that also struck him unexpectantly in a more literal sense after he turned his attention away from me to glare at Belle.
My last Sanguine stake rocketed through his chest and into the ceiling before he could regain his composure. His eight eyes darted about briefly, before going inert. With a hiss, his body slunk to the floor and each of his limbs curled up closer to his torso.
A wave of energy ran through me, and I gave Belle a nod of thanks. Her arm went slack, and she sighed, looking around at the bodies of the henchmen.
“You’re certainly proficient, Dubs,” she said.
[Are you okay?]
Her eyes went back up to me, and she nodded. “Twisted my ankle when I landed, and some minor burns that are already mostly healed, but otherwise fine. Thank you, I owe you big time.”
I grunted and shrugged, pain radiating through me as I moved. My stim pack clicked loudly, as I told it to dump itself into recovery mode. Warm, instant relief pulsed through me, carried through my bloodstream. Hopefully now the warning messages would go away.
The drone hummed up over to me, struggling to maintain a steady hover as it tilted and wavered. I held out my hand and Clara landed upon it. It looked as though part of the side near one of the rotor blades had been dented. Buckled inward, it must be affecting the flight.
//Clara: I won’t be able to maintain drone usage.
//Clara: Kindly allow me to dock, and I will switch to audio only.
With a second grunt, I pulled my feet from the sticky webbing one after the other. I took a few steps away from the wall and turned so that Clara could fly around me.
[Was this the reason you gave me the charm?]
Belle shuffled herself over to me as she dusted off some of the burned fabric from her robes. “No. Not exactly. It was meant to warn me when you got yourself in trouble, so that I could help you.” She gave me a soft smile.
[I hope it has a long shelf life then, as that is a frequent occurrence.]
As the drone clipped into position on the backpack, I then straightened myself out, my back clicking as I ignored the increased burning pain from my injuries. The super must have noticed, as her expression turned into a concerned scowl.
“Shit. I couldn’t see how injured you were from up there. Will you recover fine?”
[In no time at all, I’m sure. Especially with your assistance.]
She shrugged and crossed her arms. “I only wish I had better healing spells. You took the gamble that my barriers could deflect the villain’s attacks because I had used them to protect myself, correct?”
I nodded and looked around the room. The hall didn’t look so stately now, with the corpses and blood sprays decorating the walls. Whatever forces hadn’t met an end via my gun-arm had probably fled by now—something Clara was able to corroborate in my messages.
[So, you know what I’m going to ask you now.]
Belle pulled a face. “How I found myself in this situation?”
[Correct.]
“It will sound foolish, but…” her eyes went to the dead man-spider, before over at the wall. “Money. I didn’t know he was a villain, but I was seeking finance for the Church.”
[Does He get more powerful with the more people believe in Him?]
She nodded.
[Do you lose your powers if there is not enough general belief in Him?]
“I’m… not entirely sure.” Some of her usual confidence had left her face. “Just that this is what He wants from me. To elevate the Church and increase the flock. Some days it feels…” Belle looked up at the ceiling, as if making sure the fey demi-god wasn’t currently up there listening in. “It feels like I could be making better use of my time. The Church thing was fun at first. I got to be a leader. It was all about love and acceptance… but there’s no real…”
[There isn’t a tangible benefit to striving so much?]
She gave me a dry smile. “That’s why they call it faith, I suppose. None of my efforts have really increased my power substantially. Perhaps this is the peak of my power, in which case… it makes giving it all up and quitting a realistic option. Even if I lost all my powers, at least I would only be insufferable by my own volition.”
I gave her a brief nod before looking around for a chair to sit down on. Another tiring day under my belt. Working at night had felt nice and comfortable, even if the injuries were anything but. I had used up the last of my Sanguine ammunition, which meant it would be a struggle to go against any other villains that happened to pop up before we could fabricate our own. Or if Belle decided to attack me, I didn’t think I could kill her at present.
[Unfortunately, I know even less about the gods than my own past. Especially with the fey or any other planar entities. I cannot advise you what is best to do for your life and career, but I will support whatever action you decide on.]
That didn’t seem to bring her any comfort. Instead, she rolled her eyes. “That’s not going to cut it with me, Dubs. Being my knight in shining armor tonight has earned you a few extra points, but neither of us are up to standard.”
[Oh?]
“I’m not expecting you to solve my problems. They are my problems. I can see the potential in you, and what you can bring to the team.” She leaned against some furniture that had been half destroyed in the fight. “For a long time, I’ve felt that something in me needs to break, similar to Roxy’s power awakening. Maybe I’m wrong, but you’re the catalyst.”
[I hope you’re not wrong about that. There are plenty of trials and possibilities for the team going forward, and I wouldn’t want to replace you.]
Belle tilted her head. “It probably wouldn’t be difficult to find a decent hero with better healing or buffing abilities.”
Out of the whole gang, our supportive super had been the most surprising. If you ignored the time that Roxy shattered my rib cage and dripped with lava, at least. Roy and Ren had been pretty quick to turn around and get on board, perhaps assisted by my Calm Emotions aura. With Belle not being affected by the spell, it was taking more time to draw out what problems she had with the League and with being a hero.
[Tell me what you need, and I will do what is required. The team is here to support you.]
“Yeah, yeah.” She smiled and waved me off. “I think getting to spar with everyone together will really help. I don’t blame Roxy for how the team has fallen apart, but it’s been so long since we really acted like a team.” Her eyebrow raised. “I assume that she can currently hear me?”
I nodded. Even if Clara was audio only at present, I had no doubts that the super would still be standing in the background, wanting to hear everything that went on.
“Well, you owe me then, Roxy.” She glared at my… chest, as if that was where I had a microphone. “Give me a couple of days to clear my head, and then I’ll call in for my debt.”
//Clara: Rockslide accepts.
[She is ready and waiting.]
“Perfect.” Belle sighed. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that you had to get involved here. It wouldn't look good to get the League involved, and that last goon you exploded held a device that disabled my STAR. Being defensive only is also something I detest. I don’t mind being a helper, but I want to…” she gestured to the nearest henchman with emptied skull.
[Hmm. I can see your point. We aren’t in a position to discuss details, but there is a chance we will be doing a lot more of… this than most heroes.]
I had been chewing through my meeting with the Director for most of the day that wasn’t spent being knee deep in the other issues I had plaguing my tired mind. By now, I had some loose threads that seemed to connect with each other. I hoped that I was correct.
“We should get out of here. Hanging around a crime scene would be terrible for my metrics.” Belle grimaced as she gestured out of the hall.
With a nod, I rose to my feet, my re-breather rattling out a sigh from the numbed pain flaring back up. It was just flesh and muscle. It would patch back up in no time at all. We went through the lobby and found the exit that the retreating henchmen had used, and I took point.
The Director had been pretty clear that the World Government was annoyed that they didn’t have control in Goldarch. Their plans to disrupt the power of the League wouldn’t have stopped at the failed super-soldier squad I was once a part of. They also couldn’t be overt with their attempts and run the risk of inciting retaliation.
So what did that mean?
A softer and more subtle approach to getting their claws in. It made more sense now why the League also loosely controlled the rate of crime, running the superhero stuff like a day job for workers that needed to be kept busy. It allowed them a view of anything that seemed out of the ordinary. If certain crimes rose in frequency, or a new face started making waves—they’d know and could react as appropriate.
The League had known about me for years, of course. Even allowed me to run my contracts without interruption as I was taking out the trash, without stepping on too many toes. They could ignore my heavy-handed approach as long as I kept to the shadows.
Now that I was very real and out in the light, they had to do something with me.
The world had a lot of things in it that could be turned against Goldarch. I was fully prepared to be told that the increase in monsters and gang activity from the wastes was in part due to the World Government. The Director had even insinuated that there was a big problem brewing out there. More than just a group of heels or vigilantes, the League wanted something even more important from me.
They were going to wield the tool created by the Gov right back against them.